With its beautiful landscape, delicious food, and precious works of art, who wouldn’t want to teach English in Italy? Yes, Italy indeed, is one of the world’s most popular locations for those seeking work Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL). Moreover, Teaching English is often one of the first occupations that English speakers think of when they visit Italy, fall in love with the country, and decide to stay just a little longer, if not a lifetime!

If you’re serious about finding work teaching English in Italy, it’s best for you to complete a certification in TEFL. The certification is worth its weight in gold, especially if you’re competing for jobs with others who already have teaching experience or with those who have no teaching experience, but are already certified. In addition, because of the over abundance of English language teachers in some Italian cities, many private language schools won’t even consider hiring someone without a TEFL certification.

A TEFL certificate will give you the opportunity to work in private language schools throughout the country. Of course, if you are a member of the EU you will have a much easier time finding work, than if you’re not. If you’re not a member of the EU, don’t give up! Finding work is still possible for non-EU members, but you’ll need to be flexible, work a little harder at finding a job, and not expect things to work as they do in your own country. In the beginning, you shouldn’t expect to get a lot of teaching hours from one school—they’ll want to test you out and see how students feel about you and your lessons. In order to make ends meet, you might find yourself working for several schools at the same time and doing freelance teaching with private students you find on your own or through word of mouth.

Whether you’re a member of the EU or not, you might find smaller schools in small out- of-the-way places more willing to hire and offer you a contract from the outset. Don’t rule out smaller cities, thinking you’ll only be happy in big cities like Florence, Rome, or Venice. Remember, if you choose to teach in lesser known towns and cities, you’ll have less competition for jobs, be more exotic as an English-speaking foreigner to the locals, and probably find more work.

The best way to go about finding a job teaching English in Italy is to either, look on one of the several online ESL or EFL teaching sites which list employment opportunities or if you have some ideas about the exact place you’d like to teach, search on the internet in Italy’s Yellow Pages (www.paginegialle.it) under scuole di lingue (language schools). Here you’ll find a comprehensive listing of private language schools in both Italy’s regions and specific cities (e.g., Tuscany and Florence). If you’re already living in Italy, you probably know that Italians prefer face-to-face contact; and they are much more likely to hire someone they’ve seen or know than someone they have never met. Even if they are not hiring at the moment, it’s a good idea to visit every language school on your list. Tip: when you arrive to the town that interests you with your yellow pages listing, pick up a map at the local tourist office and map out the schools in the area over a cappuccino or espresso at the nearest coffee bar. Even if the private language schools you visit are not hiring at the moment, leave your CV/resume with the director, you never know when they might need an English teacher. Schools will most likely keep your resume on file and may even call you one or two months later. It is advisable not to waste your time sending your CVs/resumes by mail or email to schools if you can visit them in person. There is really not a best time of year to look for work teaching English in Italy, although August is probably the worst time because much of Italy is closed and on vacation during that month. For more information about teaching English in Italy and TEFL certification, check out the website: www.teachingenglishinitaly.com.

Sheila Corwin (the writer of this article) is an American citizen and has experience teaching in private language schools as both an English teacher and teacher trainer in Italy. She can be reached by email at: sheila@teachingenglishinitaly.com